<< Main Monkey Business. Lifeson. Just on fire here. And Peart is
drumming like his life depended on it. >>

I read a review that said Neil's drumming sounds like trigonometry. What
an awesome quote.

And here's the story, taken from Neil's essay on the making of the CD:

<< The elaborate instrumental, “The Main Monkey Business,” was
certainly the most painstaking song of all to write, arrange, and record (it
took me three days just to learn it). Its title comes from a
conversation Geddy had with his Polish mother.

Talking about a cousin of theirs, she said, “I have a feeling he’s up to
some monkey business.”

Geddy laughed, saying, “What kind of monkey business?”

“You know,” she said, with Old World wisdom, “The main monkey
business.”

Definitely took a few listens, but I always discover something new each
time through, and I'm liking it better and better all the time. I'm not quite
to "masterpiece" yet, but definitely top 5. What I'm really liking is all the
different musical ideas and styles this one has. The shifting time
feel on Workin' Them Angels and Faithless, the bluesiness of The Way The
Wind Blows, the cute little cymbal fill on Bravest Face, and the fact the I
never knew, cared, or appreciated what a pantoum was until I actually
looked at the lyrics for The Larger Bowl. And then there's Monkey
Business - the guitar bulid-up and subsequent all-out musical attack at
the 3:30 mark makes me laugh every time, it's just so much fun.

Here's something fun: on a long car trip today I made an iPod playlist
alternating songs from Vapor Trails and Snakes & Arrows, in order (One
Little Victory, Far Cry, Ceiling Unlimited, Armor & Sword, etc...). What a
treat! I'd forgotten how good the VT songs really are once you get past
the crummy mastering, and the songs flow very well together. I'm
kind of anxious to try the same with other similar albums (Permanent
Waves + Moving Pictures, Power Windows + Hold Your Fire...).

With the tour starting in two days, I found some interesting spoilers. I'd
heard that since they viewed the R30 tour as a "greatest hits" show, they
felt free to shake up the setlist a little this time around. So, for those who
can't resist, this was on a mailing list I frequent:

Spoiler with inviso-text...

The following songs were heard in their entirety at Rush rehearsal: Circumstances, Entre Nous, Witch Hunt, A Passage To Bangkok, Freewill, Natural Science, Digital Man, Subdivisions, Between The Wheels, YYZ, Tom Sawyer, Spirit Of Radio, Mission. Some notable songs that were not heard are: La Villa Strangiato, Temples of Syrinx, Roll the Bones. Also played were about 8 songs from Snakes & Arrows.

I told myself that I'd try to avoid spoilers of this nature, but I won't be
seeing them until September and I'm not that patient. Enjoy!

One more thing for the drummers. Go to Neil's web site for a treat. He's posted the mastered drum track for
The Main Monkey Business (minus all other instruments) for our listening
pleasure. There's a lot of nuance there that's not apparent in the full version.
Hopefully he'll do the same for some other tracks.

This is my first chance to get online since the show. Let me just say it was a great show! Entre Nous is one of my all-time favorites, so hearing it was especially a treat. More spoiler thoughts on the setlist:

I was pleased to get a good dose of Snakes and Arrows, although I thought five songs in a row was a bit much. The crowd's interest seemed to start to fade around Armor and Sword. Frankly, I'm not a huge fan of that one, so I wish they'd let it out in favor of 2112, or anything from Counterparts or Test for Echo. Spindrift was okay as well, but for me Spindrift and Armor and Sword didn't work in the live context as much as the other new songs. The Main Monkey Business, Far Cry, The Larger Bowl, and Malignant Narcissism were all highlights for me, though. Hope was a pleasant surprise as well, as I really didn't expect to hear that one.

There's also a funny video intro to Tom Sawyer that got a nice laugh from the crowd. I'll hold off on spoiling that though unless someone really wants to know.

A great show and a great setlist! Other than some technical issues with Alex's guitar at the beginning of Between the Wheels, it was perfect. See them if you get a chance!

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